Inbred broccoli line BRM50-3906

ABSTRACT

Inbred broccoli lines, designated BRM50-3906 are disclosed. The invention relates to the seeds of inbred broccoli lines BRM50-3906, to the plants of inbred broccoli lines BRM50-3906, and to methods for producing a broccoli plant produced by crossing the inbred line BRM50-3906 with itself or another broccoli line. The invention further relates to hybrid broccoli seeds and plants produced by crossing the inbred line BRM50-3906 with another broccoli line.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/437,222, filed May 7, 2009 (abandoned), which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/947,518, filed Nov. 29, 2007 (nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,538,263, issued May 26, 2009), which is a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/640,719, filed Aug. 13, 2003(abandoned), which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/845,672, filed Apr. 30, 2001 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,689,942, issuedFeb. 10, 2004), all of which applications and patents are hereinincorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to new and distinctive broccoli inbred line,designated BRM50-3906. There are numerous steps involved in thedevelopment of any new and novel desirable germplasm with superiorcombining ability. Plant breeding begins with the analysis anddefinition of problems and weaknesses of the current germplasm, theestablishment of program goals, and definition of specific breedingobjectives. The next step is selection of germplasm that posses thetraits to meet the program goals and the best breeding method to reachthose goals. The objective is to combine in a single variety or hybridan improved combination of desirable traits from the parental germplasm.These important characteristics may include higher yield, better flavor,improved color and field holding ability, resistance to diseases andinsects along with economic seed yields to facilitate the cost of hybridseed production.

The method chosen for breeding or selection depends on the mode of plantreproduction, the heritability of the trait(s) being improved, and thecultivar (variety) used commercially (e.g. F₁ hybrid, pureline). Thecomplexity of inheritance influences choice of breeding method. A mostdifficult task is the identification of individuals that are geneticallysuperior, because for most traits the true genotypic value is masked byother confounding plant traits or environmental factors. One method ofidentifying a superior plant is to observe its performance relative toother experimental plants and to a widely grown standard cultivar. If asingle observation is inconclusive, observation in multiple locationsand seasons provide a better estimate of its genetic worth.

The development of commercial broccoli hybrids requires the developmentof homozygous inbred lines. Breeding programs combine desirable traitsfrom two or more germplasm sources from which various broad basedbreeding gene pools are used to develop inbred lines by selfing followedby selection of desired phenotypes sometimes utilizing anther,microspore and ovule culture to speed up and improve selectionefficiency.

The goal of plant breeding is to develop new, unique, and superiorbroccoli cultivars. The breeder initially selects and crosses two ormore parental lines, followed by repeated selfing and selection,producing many new genetic combinations. The breeder can theoreticallygenerate billions of different genetic combinations via crossing,selfing and mutations. The breeder has no direct control at the cellularlevel. Therefore, two breeders will never develop the same line, or evenvery similar lines, having the same broccoli traits.

Description of breeding methods that are commonly used for differenttraits and crops can be found in one of several reference books. (e.g.Allard, R. W. “Principles of Plant Breeding” John Wiley and Son, pp.115-161, 1960; Simmonds, 1979; Sneep et al., 1979; Fehr, 1987).

Proper testing and evaluation should detect any major faults andestablish the level of superiority or improvement over currentcultivars. In addition to showing superior performance, there must be ademand for a new cultivar that is compatible with industry standards orwhich creates a new market. For seed-propagated cultivars, it must befeasible to maintain the inbred lines and produce seed easily andeconomically.

Broccoli, Brassica oleracea L., is a new crop in North, South andCentral America, Europe and Asia. The introduction of hybrid cultivarsin the 1960's provided a magnitude increase in yield, holding ability,expanded growing seasons and large scale production of broccoli. Thegoal in broccoli breeding is to make continued improvement in hybridbroccoli yields and horticultural characteristics in order to sustainthe supply to meet continuous increase in demand for broccoli indeveloped and emerging world economies. To accomplish this goal newbreeding methods such as anther culture and microspore culture have beenutilized to more rapidly generate inbred broccoli lines from morediverse germplasm sources.

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea, L.) belongs to the mustard family. AllBrassica oleracea will cross pollinate. Pollination is effected byinsect vectors, most common of which is the honey bee. Broccoli, likemost other Brassica, have a genetic characteristic of selfincompatibility which encourages cross pollination resulting in higherlevels of variability. Variability in populations is desired for wideadaptation and survival. Broccoli breeding populations can be inbred orbackcrossed for 8 to 9 generations and/or with the use of doublehaploids derived from anther culture to develop homozygous inbred lines.Broccoli F₁ hybrids can be produced by using self-incompatibility orcytoplasmic male sterility to control pollen movement between selectedinbred lines.

Self-incompatibility is a breeding system that enforces outcrossing andtherefore maximizes recombination in cross pollinated species. Thisbreeding system in nature has been utilized by man in F₁ hybridbreeding, especially in Brassica vegetables (Tsunoda et al., chapter13).

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is another method used in Brassicavegetables species to produce F₁ hybrids. This method of producinghybrids in Brassica is a more recent development compared toself-incompatibility. A genetic mutation contained in the cytoplasm(mitochondria) is responsible for the lack of production of pollen. InBrassica, the cytoplasm has commonly been identified in and transferredfrom “Ogura”-type radish (Ogura, 1968). The major advantage of CMS overself-incompatibility is that under normal conditions, no pollen isproduced in the female parent. This results in the production of 100%hybrid seed. Under certain stressful growth conditions, however, it maybe possible to produce small amounts of fertile pollen in CMS plants.Brassica inbreds containing CMS are maintained by continuedhybridization to their normal (fertile) counterpart inbred, commonlyreferred to as a,“B” line.

The plants associated with the Brassica group have been familiar tomankind since ancient times, and always of great agriculturalimportance. Brassica is a major food species worldwide. Brassica specieshave a general adaptation for cool climate growing conditions.Therefore, adaptation has occurred for summer growing conditions withcool to moderate climates and for winter growing conditions in warmer ortropical locations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention comprises a novel inbred broccoli line, designatedBRM50-3906. This invention thus relates to the seeds of inbred broccoliline BRM50-3906, to the plants of inbred broccoli line BRM50-3906, tomethods used for controlling pollination when making hybrid seed withBRM50-3906, and to methods for producing a broccoli plant by crossingthe inbred broccoli line BRM50-3906 with itself or another broccoliline. This invention further relates to hybrid broccoli seeds and plantsproduced by crossing the inbred line BRM50-3906 with another broccoliline.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW PLANT Definitions

In the description and tables which follow, a number of terms are used.In order to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, including the scope to be given such terms,the following definitions are provided.

Average Weight: The average weight is the average weight for an entireplot of harvested broccoli head.

Overall Rating Score: This Overall Rating Score is rated on a scale of 1to 5. A score of 5 indicated an excellent overall rating. A score of 3.0indicates average, and a score of 1 indicates poor.

Color: Color means the color of the head at maturity.

Disease and Insect Ratings: Disease and Insects are rated on a scale of1 to 5. A score of 5 indicates severe damage. A score of 3.0 indicatesmoderate damage, and a score of 1 indicates no damage.

Inbred broccoli (Brassica oleracea L.) BRM50-3906 has superiorcharacteristics, and provide an excellent parental line in crosses forproducing first generation (F₁) hybrid broccoli. The F₁ hybrids withBRM50-3906 have a high tolerance to bacterial soft rot which is veryimportant in areas with high rainfall and humidity like northwesternEurope and which results in higher returns to the grower and improvedshelf life. The F₁ hybrids with BRM50-3906 have a high tolerance tohollow stem which is important in areas with lower planting densitiesand/or fast growth which results in improved shelf life and higherreturns to the grower. The F₁ hybrids with BRM50-3906 have a hightolerance to ‘cateyes’ which result in a more attractive product withuniform bead. The F₁ hybrids of the instant invention produce a morecompact and solid head which result in higher weight per head and headdiameter as compared to commercial hybrids, Marathon, Legacy andDecathlon which in turn increases yield for the grower and provides abetter product for processing since the outer florets do not crumble.BRM50-3906 produce a more ‘open’ plant type, narrower leaf petioles andsmaller scars on the stem which makes the product easier to harvest andclean, decreasing labor costs and increasing returns to the grower. Thelonger field standing ability of BRM50-3906 provides greater flexibilityto the grower. With the combination of all of these improved traits, theyield is increased over the leading commercial broccoli varietiesMarathon, Legacy and Decathlon.

The inbred has shown uniformity and stability for all traits, asdescribed in the following variety description information. The line hasbeen increased and maintained by pollination with fertile inbred lineGIX with continued observation for uniformity.

Variety Description Information

A cytoplasmic male sterility gene was backcrossed into BRM50-3905 toproduce BRM50-3906. BRM50-3906 is maintained by cross pollination with afertile maintainer line which is maintained by self-pollination.BRM50-3906 has the following characteristics:

MATURITY: Late

Plant Characteristics:

-   -   No. of Stems: 1    -   Head Color: Blue-green    -   Plant Height Tall

This invention is also directed to methods for producing a broccoli bycrossing a first parent broccoli plant with a second parent broccoliplant, wherein the first or second broccoli plant is the inbred broccolifrom the line BRM50-3906. Further, both first and second parent broccoliplants may be from the inbred line BRM50-3906. Therefore, any methodsusing the inbred broccoli line BRM50-3906 are part of this invention;selfing, backcrosses, hybrid breeding, and crosses to populations. Anyplants produced using inbred broccoli line BRM50-3906 as a parent arewithin the scope of this invention. Advantageously, the inbred broccoliline is used in crosses with other broccoli varieties to produce firstgeneration (F₁) broccoli hybrid seed and plants with superiorcharacteristics.

As used herein, the term “plant” includes plant cells, plantprotoplasts, plant cells of tissue culture from which broccoli plantscan be regenerated, plant calli, plant dumps, and plant cells that areintact in plants or parts of plants, such as pollen, flowers, seeds,stalks, stumps, leaves and the like. Thus, another aspect of thisinvention is to provide for cells which upon growth and differentiationproduce the inbred broccoli BRM50-3906.

TABLE Broccoli Trait Comparison 50% Avg Plant Head Bead Stem Name Mat.Wt Unif Type Type Size Quality Overall Disease United Kingdom—1999 PlantDate: July 20 RS1140 Oct. 15 500 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.0 MarathonOct. 13 480 2.0 4.0 3.0 4.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 Decathlon Oct. 6 350 3.5 4.5 3.04.0 4.0 3.0 4.5 United Kingdom—2000 Plant Date: July 5 RS1140 Sep. 19670* 3.0 5.0 5.0 3.5 4.5 4.5 3.5 Marathon Sep. 13 600 3.0 3.0 2.5 4.0 —2.5 3.5 Legacy Sep. 13 620 2.5 3.5 3.0 4.0 — 3.0 3.5 *Due to anunusually poor seed lot this number has been recalculated.

In Table 1 that follows, the traits and characteristics of the hybrid RS1140 which has BRM50-3905 as one of its parents, are given in comparisonwith other commercial broccoli varieties.

As shown in the Table, RS1140 which is the variety which has BRM50-3905as one of its parents clearly outperforms the other commercialvarieties, Marathon, Decathlon and Legacy in most categories.

Deposit Information

Deposit of the Brassica seeds BRM50-3906 of this invention aremaintained by Seminis Vegetable Seeds, 37437 State Highway 16, Woodland,Calif. 95695. Access to these deposits will be available during thependency of this application to persons determined by the Commissionerof Patents and Trademarks to be entitled thereto under 37 CFR 1.14 and35 USC 122. Upon allowance of claims in this application, allrestrictions on the availability to the public of the variety will beirrevocably removed by affording access to a deposit of at least 2,500seeds of the same variety with the American Type Culture Collection,Manassas, Va. A deposit of the Seminis Vegetable Seeds proprietaryinbred broccoli line BRM50-3905 has been made with the American TypeCulture Collection (ATCC), 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, Va.20110. The date of deposit was May 15, 2003. The ATCC Accession Numberis PTA-5198.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail byway of illustration and example for purposes of clarity andunderstanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modificationsmay be practiced within the scope of the invention, as limited only bythe scope of the appended claims.

1. An F₁ hybrid broccoli plant, or a part thereof, having as a parentplant, a plant of broccoli line BRM50-3905, a sample of seed of saidline having been deposited with the American Type Culture Collectionunder ATCC Accession No. PTA-5198, wherein said plant part is selectedfrom the group consisting of a leaf, a flower, a stem, a stalk, a stump,an ovule, a floret, pollen, a head, a callus, a protoplast, and a cell.2. The plant part of claim 1, wherein said cell is regenerable.
 3. Atissue culture of regenerable cells of claim
 2. 4. The tissue cultureaccording to claim 3, comprising cells or protoplasts from a tissueselected from the group consisting of leaves, pollen, embryos, roots,root tips, anthers, flowers and fruit.
 5. A broccoli plant regeneratedfrom the tissue culture of claim 4 having all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the hybrid broccoli plant of claim 1.6. An F₁ hybrid broccoli plant, or a part thereof, having as a parentplant, a plant of broccoli line BRM50-3905, a sample of seed of saidline having been deposited with the American Type Culture Collectionunder ATCC Accession No. PTA-5198, wherein said part produces a morecompact and solid head with a higher head weight and head diametercompared to commercial hybrids Marathon, Legacy and Decathlon whereinsaid plant has increased yield compared to commercial hybrids Marathon,Legacy and Decathlon, wherein said plant part is selected from the groupconsisting of a leaf, a flower, a stem, a stalk, a stump, an ovule, afloret, pollen, a head, a callus, a protoplast, and a cell.
 7. The F₁hybrid broccoli plant of claim 6, further comprising high tolerance to acharacteristic selected from the group consisting of bacterial soft rot,hollow stem and cateye.
 8. A plant having all the physiological andmorphological characteristics of the hybrid broccoli plant of claim 6.9. A method for producing a hybrid seed comprising the steps of: (a)crossing a broccoli plant of inbred line BRM50-3905, a sample of seed ofsaid inbred line having been deposited with the American Type CultureCollection under ATCC Accession No. PTA-5198, with a second broccoliplant; and (b) allowing said hybrid seed of said cross to form.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein said second broccoli plant is an inbredbroccoli plant.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein said plant of inbredline BRM50-3905 is used as a male parent.
 12. The method of claim 9,wherein said plant of inbred line BRM50-3905 is used as a female parent.13. An F₁ hybrid seed obtained from the method of claim
 9. 14. Themethod of claim 9, wherein said second broccoli plant comprises atransgene.
 15. A method of producing a food or feed comprising: (a)obtaining an F₁ hybrid broccoli plant having as a parent plant, a plantof broccoli line BRM50-3905, a sample of seed of said line having beendeposited with the American Type Culture Collection under ATCC AccessionNo. PTA-5198; (b) growing said plant to maturity; and (c) collecting apart from said plant.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein said part is abroccoli head.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein said part is afloret.
 18. An F₁ plant obtainable from a cross of a plant of broccoliline BRM50-3905, a sample of seed of said line having been depositedwith the American Type Culture Collection under ATCC Accession No.PTA-5198.
 19. The F₁ hybrid plant of claim
 1. 20. The F₁ hybrid plant ofclaim
 6. 21. An F₁ hybrid seed, having as a parent plant a plant ofbroccoli line BRM50-3905, a sample of seed of said parent plant linehaving been deposited with the American Type Culture Collection underATCC Accession No. PTA-5198.